1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to threaded fasteners.
2. Prior Art
Most furniture are designed to be shipped in a disassembled condition, and are provided with fasteners for assembly by the end user. Wood furniture cannot simply be connected by bolts screwed into wood because the wood can easily fracture around the screws. Therefore, special nuts known as barrel nuts that are recessed into the wood are used for securing the bolts. A typical barrel nut is loosely positioned in a hole in a furniture panel, and a transverse bolt extending from an adjacent panel is screwed into the nut. Since the nut is loosely positioned in its hole, aligning it with the bolt is very difficult.
Other types of furniture fasteners are also known. They are generally complicated in construction and require specialized manufacturing techniques to make and install at the factory. Some of them require precise alignment with one or more pieces of furniture panels, so that if they are even slightly misaligned when installed at the factory, they will make assembling the furniture very difficult for the end user.
The objects of the present barrel nut are:
to be recessed in a piece of furniture panel;
to be securely positioned in a snug fitting hole;
to receive a transverse bolt extending from an adjacent furniture panel;
to be easily aligned with the bolt;
to be simple in construction; and
to be simple to use for an untrained end user.